Europe is struggling to find the money

The EU’s 27 members have spent freely since early 2020 to support their economies and citizens through a global pandemic, a war on their doorstep and an energy-price surge. Back in 2020 richer northern EU members reluctantly signed up to a debt-funded recovery fund worth €806bn ($880bn, some 5% of EU GDP in 2022) that mostly benefits the south and east of the union. But high interest rates have bent these plans out of shape.